Tuesday, February 24, 2015

President Obama Vetoes the Keystone XL Pipeline

Image from source, AOL

Good.

Not only is this a project with no particularly obvious benefit to the US economy for its out-of-scale push from Right Wing World. Not only is it bizarre that conservatives (allegedly the careful, considerate, deliberate party) squelched environmental and scientific studies in order to full-steam-ahead this sucker. Not only could an environmental disaster with this pipeline cause utter devastation to the country. Not only would it produce a bare handful of permanent jobs. Not only have oil and energy politics changed drastically since the right started flogging this issue. It is also a bill that the President has already said he'd veto. An issue that the Democratic/progressive base has been convulsing over more than virtually any other. Politically, there is no downside for the President, who has proffered very, very few vetoes in his terms in office, and is not up for any future election. Good.

Let Right Wing World blow a fuse. At this point, who cares?

[Excerpt]Defying GOP, Obama vetoes Keystone XL pipeline billDefying the Republican-run Congress, President Barack Obama rejected a bill Tuesday to approve construction of the Keystone XL oil pipeline, wielding his veto power for only the third time in his presidency.
Obama offered no indication of whether he'll eventually issue a permit for the pipeline, whose construction has become a flashpoint in the U.S. debate about environmental policy and climate change. Instead, Obama sought to reassert his authority to make the decision himself, rebuffing GOP lawmakers who will control both the House and Senate for the remainder of the president's term. . .